Baby-dumb

I am not really into kid and baby stuff, but I'm learning as I go.  I usually poll my friends when I have a problem, and someone politely states the obvious answer that I had not thought of.  There should be a manual with annual updates that include all the newly-invented baby gear and whether or not it's really necessary. 

I stink at rinsing baby hair.  I mean, the hair gets rinsed but Olivia sputters through it, gasping for breath and trying to find a way out of the tub.  I've tried doing it with a cup, under the faucet, with a washcloth, with handfuls of water, but ultimately it either doesn't get the job done or my kid thinks she's drowning.  I just don't know how else to do it, so I told myself that maybe OJ is just sensitive to water in her face.  And nobody knowledgeable about baby-hair rinsing is in the bathroom with us when I need some advice, and so far I've forgotten to poll my panel of experts.

Last week my niece Lyla confirmed that the hair rinsing problem lies with me, that I'm apparently trying to drown her as well.  The girls did very well in the tub together, and Olivia enjoyed all the new tub toys.  Lyla had a rubber-sided bucket and they both enjoyed finding little things to put in it. 

Then a few days later I was at Babies R Us in Akron and saw the label on the rubber-sided bucket which, come to find out, is designed for the purpose of rinsing baby hair.  You press the rubber side against little Sven's forehead to protect his face, then dump the water toward the back of his head.  Brilliant! 

I'm going to be the old lady saying, "I wish they had that when I had little ones."  And somebody will politely let me know that they did have those; I was just baby-dumb.